Man shot by police in Central Hawke's Bay

A 48-year-old Central Hawke's Bay man is in a stable condition in Hawke's Bay Hospital after being shot by police early this morning.

The man was shot after he approached a police officer saying he had a gun and threatened to kill him. The man will face numerous charges relating to this and other incidents in Hawke's Bay this week.

The man's name has not been released as police are still trying to contact his family.

The man was a passenger in a car that was stopped by police near the small township of Otane, south of Hastings just before midnight last night. He was known to police and was the subject of a police operation in Central Hawke's Bay last evening, where the Hawke's Bay armed offenders squad searched several properties in the seaside village of Porangahau looking for him.

Later in the evening police received information that the man was in Otane and police were patrolling the area looking for him.

Eastern District Commander Superintendent Sam Hoyle said details about the incident would emerge during investigations, but initial information is that a police car stopped a car that was turning on to SH2 from Higginson Rd. Police were armed as the man was considered dangerous and had made previous threats recently to "take people out".

There were two officers in the car. The man approached the police car in an aggressive manner and told the officer standing by the car that he had a gun and was going to kill him. As he advanced on the officer he was concealing something in his sweatshirt pocket.

Mr Hoyle said the officer backed off from the offender, warning him several times to show his hands and that police were armed. The officer fired a single shot at him, hitting him in the torso. As the police officers struggled to restrain him on the ground, he told them he had a grenade and was going to "blow them all up".

The man was given first aid at the scene by the police officers and was taken to Hawke's Bay Regional Hospital by ambulance. He was in a stable condition this morning after undergoing surgery.

Mr Hoyle said the man was wanted by police in connection with several incidents in the area this week, including a domestic assault, a home invasion and attempting to ram a police car during an attempt earlier this week by police to arrest him.

The Independant Police Complaints Authority has been advised of the shooting and a criminal investigation will be run by senior police officers from outside the Eastern District.

The officers involved in the incident were now off duty.